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Latest data from HomeLet suggests that typical rents across the UK have fallen in real terms over the past 12 months.

Average rents country-wide rose by an average of just 0.7 per cent during November - the 11th successive month in which rental price inflation has lagged behind the general rate of inflation.

The average rent agreed on a new tenancy signed in November was £904 according to the November HomeLet Rental Index, compared to £898 in the same month of last year.

With the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that inflation in the UK, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, currently stands at 3.1 per cent, November’s data means that rents have reduced in real terms for almost the whole of 2017.

The last time that average rental price growth exceeded inflation was December 2016.

However, the national data masks significant regional variations, with rents in some parts of the country rising much more quickly.

The East Midlands, Northern Ireland, the South-West of England and the North-East of England all recorded annual rental price inflation in excess of 3.0 per cent during November.

By contrast, figures show rents fell in three regions of the UK with Greater London, the East of England and the South-East of England all recording negative growth.

The average tenancy agreed in London last month cost £1,530, compared to £1,556 in October.

“So far this year we have seen very modest rental price inflation; rents are now higher than a year ago in most parts of the country, but there has been no return to the more rapid increases we last saw during the first half of 2016” days HomeLet’s chief executive Martin Totty.